Costco has full warranty for 3 years and free supplies, except batteries, and service (adjustments) for as long as you own your aids in the US.
Thanks for joining in.That long term help does seem to be a plus for Costco and as I learned experience and willingness to program ha for best benefit. Of course this site has helped tremendously, never new what receiver I had or how to find out not to mention it capabilities. It takes time for some of us to get proper fit and understand what we could expect from the aid we have.
That would be a S or standard receiver with a 2 cm wire.
It really does appear it a process to achieve a good ha setting especially when lower freq. are in a good range then the ski slope keeps dropping. (see audiogram) I was re fitted with m receivers for k7’s which guess overload ears no feedback I could detect but increased my tinnitus and began to grate on me.
Costco called Rexton rep. had me go back to S receivers was needed because at 500hz was at 25-25 db. Set a new smart fit presc. and did adjustments. Not perfect for real world experiences but getting there. Rose the Costco mgr. seem to be determined to get as close as possible. Would like me to come back later tis week to do small adjustments for any remaining issues… Being retired I can do that just thinking what an issue this would become if I still had a job. I was also told perhaps a rumor but 6000hz for speech is the aim for prescription. Just wondered if that was true.
Thanks to all and best of luck on your hearing journey.
There’s a lot of “it depends,” with regards to high frequency sounds and hearing aids. Keep in mind that telephones only transmit up to about 3400 hz to keep things in perspective. The power that hearing aids can supply really starts falling off at about 5000 hz so for many people with severe to profound losses, getting them up to 4000-5000 hz is considered pretty good. Beyond that often requires frequency lowering. To hear the sibilants, f, th and s sounds requires hearing around 6000 hz. To me the approach to take depends on personality. If you’re geeky and enjoy researching this stuff (like me), have at it. It can be a fun obsession. If you just want things to work, find a hearing aid fitter/audiologist who seems sincerely interested in helping you (it sounds like you have) and work with them.
I don’t think they are being straight up with you there. When they do the REM test they should have the choice of NAL-NL2 as well as DSL v5. It is in their fitting software and in the REM software as well. The one they seem to have trouble using is the Rexton proprietary SmartFit prescription because it is not in their 3rd party REM software.
It does not make sense to me that an M receiver would not work for you. I also can’t think of any way it could be increasing tinnitus. Tinnitus is a brain induced sound we “hear” that is independent from the hearing aid. At most hearing aid noise (intentional or not) can mask the tinnitus. If anything the M receiver will have a touch more noise, but nothing noticeable.
The SmartFit is a good prescription too, but I am surprised they can do it, unless they are doing it manually. That is what my fitter does. She sets the REM equipment to display NAL-NL2 but makes the adjustment to what she sees for a SmartFit curve. Are they doing the REM test? That is where you listen to a female voice in another language that is kind of all nonsensical for words. They should be repeating the test at 50 dB, 65 dB, and 80 dB.
I can use telephone with or without aids .I don’t get all words but almost all. . All REM test were preformed by mid level male voice with gibberish or multi foreign words. I had NAL NAL2 with m rec. with REM preformed. Noise could have been feedback because the sound is close to tinnitus I have (eeeeee sound) I was getting mild headache. Gone in the morning and only occurred after putting ha on for a couple of hours. Rexton rep. had her go back to s rec. he said not recommended for anyone with under 30 db at 500hz. He walked her though the complete fitting process and had me use tulip click domes. Sent me into store for 15 minutes went by tv’s and registers. I said it was to loud they took it down. Costco mgr. tried rattling coins or hitting them on metal. Said I would need real world experience and at home to know if it was spot on or useable. At home was able to hear near 5000 hz on hearing test and hearbirdsagain.com Did lose some of the sharp speech I bad with the m re. and wife’s voice. Will return and see if we can work on that. Before I left she said that she had applies SmartFit . I no longer notice my tinnitus or have mid headache. What ever the noise was it was enough to be a constant bother and could not be ignored. As I said earlier I have little to any knowledge about ha programs other than what I receive on this site and at Costco. I did like the clarity with m rec. but not the constant eeeee sound tv high pitched voices that seemed to have been higher in frequency. If Rexton rep. or mgr. could have fixed that issue would have been a happy camper. Rexton did not want to go there; again 500 hz at 20/25 db. It appears it’s game over as far as rep is concerned on M rec.
Sorry failed to mention I also tried all dome even power click domes, a mixture of let and right open closed tulip. none helped with excess noise eeeeeee could even hear it with tv and fan on.
I don’t know what the Rexton rep is talking about when he says an M receiver can’t be used by anyone under 30 dB at 500 Hz. I am down 25 dB at 500 Hz and use an M receiver. The issue with the S vs M receiver is at the 4-8 kHz frequency, not 500 Hz. I would expect unless they really turn the gain down, you could be getting into max power output in those higher frequencies with the S receiver.
The eeeeeeee sound yo hear must be feedback. It should have nothing to do with the M receiver unless they have simply cranked gain up so high that it creates feedback. About the only real way you can control feedback is with a better fitting. Have you tried the click sleeves? Signia claims that an open click sleeve can provide better feedback isolation than a double click dome. See this article on click sleeves. The other potentially better option is to go with custom molds. They should fit the best and do the best to control feedback.
Ok heck if I know buy was on the phone with him and mgr when that’s what she was told ( off line she said she did not know that she always ry to fit with m rec.) I was happy with the M except for the steady eee sound and higher pitched voices words such as hits was heard as hitsss ending of words went up in my hearing pitch . I tried every dome they had at store never seen a vented click sleeve. I will try to print your e mail and article on sleeves and take it with me. Do all Costco carry them or is that a special order?
The power dome may have been to large and fill up the ear was uncomfortable I use 8 mm it was a 10/12mm
Click sleeves are the only things I have been offered, other than custom molds. I think the issue is kind of hit and miss using off the shelf generic products. If the fit your ear, then all is good. If they don’t then all is not so good. Here is what they look like. I have tried small and medium and settled on small. They are kind of oval shaped and come in vented and closed. But the closed still has a small vent.
I have tried and have open and closed except for 8-10 double. I have never seen or been offered a sleeve. bottom row. Will check on next visit later this week. I did mention the DSLv5 to mgr. and to the other tech. both seemed clueless, I think they rely on what their computer graph recommends. They are quick to remind you the tech and the audiologist take the same state exam. They seem to rely on Rexton when they are uncertain. I look at spec. data sheet and there is no reason I could see that would prevent me from the M receiver as you have stated. Instead of changing rec. as 1 resort other option in fitting and tweaking should have been explored. It’s sad when information give on this site is more helpful than the providers. Only good thing is she is open minded and willing to continue to adapt ( so far guess there may be a limit) It looks as if I need to find a good audiologist for my next pair.
One possibility is that the medium receiver has more “floor noise” than the S. This is typically described as a staticky sound. People with good low frequency hearing can often hear it. If you really want to try DSLv5, you can tell the fitter to go to the same section where they can choose SmartFit or NAL-NL2. I don’t really recommend it for somebody new who is just trying to get used to hearing aids though. It tends to really emphasize the high frequencies compared to other fitting regimens.
My tinnitus is similar to the sound you get when hand nears your mic in ha just does not increase in volume. I no idea if I need to try dslv5. I believe you said you use k7 with s rec. our graph looks similar with left ear. Thar rec. works for you I know there are variables which could include a wr scores not been test in over 2 yrs. for wr or srt. I have worn these for 2.5 years and had issues with wife’s voice without asking her to repeat what she said. There was an improvement in her voice clarity with the m rec. noise or feedback or whatever the sound was to much for me. I know you said you tinkered with your setting to make the s rec. work for you. I am confused as to what to ask Costco to do going forward. The 3 thing most interested may not be compatible but watch a lot of tv so want decent sound and wife’s voice, and at least 6000 hz to help with misunderstood words. Is that unrealistic?
Here are their choices in the Connexx fitting software. They can select from 5 fitting formulas. See the First Fit screen shot below:
Here are their choices for click dome types:
It sounds like your fitter is quite inexperienced and seems to be just following a fixed recipe for fitting. Do you have an option of trying a different Costco?
What you are describing as tinnitus is almost certainly feedback caused by your domes not sealing well enough or the vents are too large. As far as DSL v5 it certainly would try to give you more high frequency levels. However it would be even more difficult with respect to feedback. You would need custom molds for sure. So, I guess it kind of depends on how badly you want to hear those high frequencies. Here is what it would look like with molds and a M receiver. Your left ear could really use a P receiver if DSL is to be used as even the M is running out of headroom at the high frequencies.
The 3 thing most interested in may not be compatible but watch a lot of tv so want decent sound and wife’s voice, and at least 6000 hz to help with misunderstood words. Is that unrealistic? I am confused as to what to ask Costco to do going forward. Don’t want to be a pain in the backside S receiver give some feedback quick squeal with higher pitches, and some mis understood words from wife within a 3 ft range.
Have you looked at the REM results? How close did they get you to hearing 6000hz? It might be possible in the left ear, not in the right. How picky are you about “sound quality?” Frequency lowering can definitely make 6000hz audible, but you might not like it. If I’m remembering correctly, you were already complaining about sibilance (harsh sounding sh sound) That results from hearing high frequencies you haven’t heard before. Many people adjust to it. Others don’t (or don’t give themselves enough time–not sure which) TV has an easy fix. Get the device that allows direct streaming to the hearing aids. As far as how to deal with the Costco people. Share the problems you are trying to solve and let them try to solve them. I’d stay away from requests like “I want to hear 6000 hz.” and put it into terms like “I can’t understand my wife.” I don’t remember if you’ve ever shared your word recognition scores. Keep in mind we’re talking about improving your hearing, not perfecting it.
I wouldn’t worry about being a pain in the butt to Costco. However, I learned a long time ago that it is very difficult to push a rope. It sounds like the local fitter is not all that competent. About all that you can do in that situation is keep asking questions. As MDB says ask questions like “Is there a way to help understand my wife?” With your loss in your left ear, DSL v5 is not likely to help. It is most likely to aggravate the feedback problems. What would be nice would be if they could put it into one program and let you try it. However, it sounds like that would be like trying to push a rope with this particular fitter.
Based on what you have described so far, I am not sure you can make a big improvement without going to custom molds. That would let them use more gain without having feedback.